High School High Five: Week 9 -- Role reveral for Pitt-DLS BYLINE: Mitch Stephens

Published 4:00 am, Friday, November 5, 2004

Welcome to High Five, a prep sports highlight reel of sorts from the Bay Area recounted by Chronicle staff writers and correspondents. Without further ado:

1) ROLE-REVERSAL: It's not fair, really. Pittsburg High football coach Vic Galli had painstakingly planned for the last two years how his team, his program would finally dethrone De La Salle and its preposterous win streak.

With perhaps Pittsburg's best teams since Ken Simonton days, Galli and the 2004 Pirates circled this date, Nov. 5, as the moment of reckoning.

One big problem.

De La Salle's streak was shattered in September, the Spartans appear simply mortal and the Pirates, in a twist of fate, are now considerable favorites.

"They're still De La Salle," Galli said. "They're still kings around here until someone around here beats them."

True, De La Salle (3-3-2) still hasn't been defeated, only tied by Palma and Clayton Valley, but even if the Pirates prevail tonight at 7:30 in Concord, it will be somewhat anticlimactic. The Pirates are loaded with talent, including the Bay Area's leading rusher Derrick Blanche (1,465 yards, 21 TDs), quarterback Jason Crawley (30 of 50, 640 yards, 8 TDs, 2 interceptions), big-play receiver Deric Davis (18 catches, 614 yards, seven TDs) and a stout defense that has allowed just 64 points, most of those after the game has long been decided. Pittsburg has scored 364.

"They've had some great teams and athletes over there in the past," De La Salle defensive coordinator Terry Eidson said. "But this is definitely one of their best. We need to tackle and make them drive the ball. They've scored on a ton of big plays this year. We have to prevent that."

De La Salle won two decisive games against a good Pittsburg teams last year, including 39-0 in the North Coast Section 4A title game.

The Spartans, already thin in talent, have been riddled with injury, especially on the offensive front where they've started three sophomores.

No. 2. PRAYER AND HAIL MARY: Ten years from now, they will still be talking about it.

Anyone who attended Valley Christian's miraculous 34-32 win over Serra last week will surely have vivid memories of what may well go down as one of the greatest games in West Catholic Athletic League history.

Serra blasted out to a 22-7 lead in a brilliantly-played contest between two of the top six teams in the Bay Area. Valley Christian stormed back, scoring 27 of the game's final 37 points. There were five lead changes, including three in the final 2:25.

Yes, it was that good.

In the end, when Dante Perez's Hail Mary pass connected with Colin Maher for a 68-yard touchdown with no time left, it set off a wide range of emotions that had players and coaches from both sides in tears.

Perez lay motionless on the turf, then proceeded to cry for the next 20 minutes. He's probably still crying. Proud parents of the Valley Christian players, most of whom brought their camcorders, recorded the moment in jubilation. But if the Warriors were experiencing nirvana, the Padres were in utter depression.

Serra football coach Patrick Walsh could barely contain his emotions. As five print reporters surrounded him, a devastated Walsh took a couple of deep breaths before saying, "What do you guys want to ask me? Someone ask me a question; I don't know what to say."

Neither did we coach. Neither did we.

-- Emanuel Lee

No. 3. WHERE'D HE GO?: When Encinal took the field against El Cerrito last Friday afternoon, the Jets were in a world of hurt. The top two quarterbacks were hurt and untested junior Brian Johnson was put in to lead the sometimes complicated option offense.

Johnson, who handled the ball well all day, got the last laugh in the second quarter. He faked the ball to upback Donovan Brown and the El Cerrito defense fell for it, collapsing on Brown and tackling him.

Johnson kept the ball the ran around the left side for about a 15-yard gain. One huge problem: Every referee on the field took the fake as well, whistles blew, no one even saw Johnson other than a lone EC defensive back and chaos ensued. Referee Fred McDonald said something about an "inadvertent whistle" and the Encinal coaching staff went nuts. Perhaps feeling a little sheepish about the whole thing, the refs ended up giving Johnson about seven yards of credit. Encinal coach Jack Schramm, after getting an explanation, deadpanned: "Make sure you tell him we run the option!"

No. 4. TILLMAN HONORED: Anything attached to Pat Tillman deserves attention. Any time you can hear his story, his words, his way, it's worth listening.

Leland High of San Jose will honor the late Tillman today at 6:15 p.m. before its first home game at the school's just renovated home stadium which will be named after the former NFL star who graduated from Leland in 1994.

Officials will retire Tillman's No. 42 during a pregame ceremony and a video of his life is scheduled at halftime of Leland's 7:30 p.m. game with Piedmont Hills.

Tillman, who left the NFL to join the Army Rangers, was killed during fighting in Afghanistan in May.

-- Mitch Stephens

No. 5. DON'T MISS: A slew of important events are taking place in the next week.

* Former St. Francis baseball coach Chris Bradford, who retired in the summer after 31 seasons, 634 wins and 10 league titles, will be honored at a 7 p.m. dinner on Wednesday at LouÄôs Village in San Jose. For more information, call 650-968-1213, ext. 267. Bradford is truly a jewel of a man and a great baseball coach.

* Those wanting an early view of the top-ranked girls basketball team in the country should stop by Piedmont High Saturday at 4 p.m.

Piedmont takes on a group of celebrities in an exhibition that benefits the Alameda County Food Bank as well as Piedmont athletics.

The celebrities will be led by Lynette Woodard, a former WNBA star, Olympic gold medalist and Harlem Globetrotter. She'll be joined by former 49er Bubba Paris among others.

* Woodside, which promises to have a strong boys basketball team, will unveil the grand opening of its new basketball gym on Nov. 12 in a first-ever alumni game at 7 p.m. This historic event matches former Woodside stars from 1996-to-2003 against the current team that won the Peninsula Athletic League championship in 2003-2004.